Cable binding stitch and method



June 27, 1967 H, J. GENY 3,328,059

CABLE BINDING STITCH AND METHOD Filed Aug. 24, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 27, 1967 H. J. GENY 3,328,059

ING ME Filed Aug. 24, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 27, 1967 H, J, GENY 3,328,059

CABLE BINDING STITCH AND METHOD I Filed Aug. 24, 1965 I 4 Sheets-Sheet;

United States Patent 3,328,059 CABLE BINDING STITCH AND METHOD Henri J. Geny, Paris, France, assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation Filed Aug. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 482,098 Claims priority, application France, Aug. 26, 1964, 986,229, Patent 1,413,185 2 Claims. (Cl. 289-1.2)

This invention relates to a binding stitch and, more particularly, to a binding stitch for cable froms used in electric installations and to a method of forming the binding stitch.

It is Well-known that the circuits which connect the units or apparatus mounted in electrical apparatus, telephone or other equipments are often constituted by coherent groups of conductors generally in the shape of cable forms.

These cable forms are realized on a support which is a replica of the equipment in which they will be mounted. The different circuits are marked, on this support, by means of nails. The different conductors are arranged on this board at the places they will occupy in relation to one another, the nails serving to guide, to maintain the conductors and to branch off into arms from the main circuit by bending the conductors round these nails. When all the conductors of the form are set in place, a coherent whole must be achieved, having sufiicient rigidity to be taken off the forming board, transported, and stored if necessary before being finally placed in the equipment for which it is provided. To this end, the conductors are bound by means of string with knots or stitches from place to place.

This binding operation is rather expensive as it is a non-neglectable part of the time spent by the worker who is doing the cable form. On the other hand, the binding must press the wires together in the most efiicient manner the binding stitches are not very distant from each other. Besides the tightening of the strand, the stitches are also meant to mark when necessary the place where the wires come out facing the units to which they must be connected. It is, therefore, important for each stitch to be tightened in such a way that it cannot shift from the location given to it. Furthermore, the string must be all one piece and often estimated by the length of the string necessary so that there is discontinuity in the binding at the place the string was cut or else there is an extra piece if it was cut too long. On the other hand, in well-known ways of binding, all the string must be passed round the strand for each stitch which causes great loss of time. In this type of binding, the tightness of each stitch depends on the tightness of the previous ones so that if the string is cut between two stitches, the stitches loosen up, which reduces the efiiciency of the tying over a certain length of the cable form.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to prevent these inconveniences by realizing a binding stitch that enables, on the one hand, saving time and string by avoiding cutting the string and passing it entirely under the strand, and on the other hand, increasing the efiiciency of the binding by securing at each stitch a permanent tightening independent from the neighboring knots.

One of the features of the invention is the stitch of binding whose initial phase consists in forming a loop with parts of string coming from the bobbin and from the preceding knot, the part from the bobbin passing under that coming from the knot, the extremity of the loop thus formed being next passed under the strand to be bound then when it appears at the other edge of the strand pull from bottom to top by slipping the loop between said strand and the part of the string coming from the preceding knot, the latter part being rendered parallel to the axis of the strand by acting on said stitch, the bobbin being then passed through the latter and the string pulled parallely to the axis of said strand so as to reduce said loop and so that the latter, when it is entirely reduced, arrest saidstring by locking the stitch.

According to another feature of the invention, only the part of string passing under the strand is the loop initially formed, the bobbin containing the string remaining always on the same side of the form so that it is not necessary to cut the string before the end of the binding.

According to another feature of the invention, the locking of each binding stitch enables obtaining a permanent tightening of each knot, said tightening resulting only from the strain exerted to realize it and being independent from that of the neighboring binding stitches.

Various further features will be disclosed from the following description which is given by way of non-limited example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent:

FIG. 1, a view of the common type of binding;

FIGS. 2 to 7, views each of which corresponds to an important phase of realization of the binding stitch, object of the invention.

The description will begin by referring first to FIG. 1 which represents a cable form 1 constituted by a certain number of electric conductors. These conductors are united and maintained in such a way as to form a strand by means of an appropriate binding with knots-such as indicated by references 2 and 3which are more particularly called binding stitches. These can have different forms and their realization can be different; FIG. 1 shows a mode of a well-known binding, two stitches being al ready made at the upper part of the figure while the lower part illustrates the passing of the string before tightening the knot.

The description that will follow now is related more particularly to the new binding stitch object of the invention, the main steps of which are shown in FIGS. 2 to 7.

In FIG. 2, is seen the manner of forming the initial loop 5, the part of the string connected to the bobbin 4 passing under the part of string coming from the previous knot.

Then the loop is slipped under the strand 1 until the extremity 5 appears on the other side of the strand as seen on FIG. 3..

Loop "5 is then pulled from the bottom to top, which means, towards the front of the figure plan, but in such a way that as shown on FIG. 4 it is located between the strand and the part 6 of the string.

In FIG. 5, loop 5 has been set to the right and was pulled on and made longer; part 6 is reduced during this pulling which continues up to the moment when part 6 the string coming for the previous knot-is parallel to the axis of strand 1. In addition, the coils 7 and 8 are set at the desired place on the strand by acting on the string loop.

Then, the bobbin 4 passes in this loop by going through it from left to right, which operation is illustrated by FIG. 6. Then the bobbin is pulled parallelly to the axis of the strand, in such manner as to absorp the loop 5 and the operation is completed so as to obtain an adequate tightening of the loops on the strand.

When the loop is entirely reduced one must pull the part of string located between the knot and the bobbin in such way as to tighten the stitch; the upper part of FIG. 7 shows a finished stitch and the lower part the first phase of the next knot, which consists in forming the initial loop as seen on FIG. 2.

We shall now examine the advantages of the new string stitch in relation to the classical point on FIG. 1. Referring to this figure, it is seen that the string must be slipped completely under the strand at each string stitch. Now,

3 generally, the work of binding the wiring forms is done on a board called cable forming board so that it is impossible to pass the bobbin under the strand of wires. The approximate length of the string must then be cut, which causes lost bits. With the method object of the present invention it will be noticed that the bobbin is always on the same side of the strand and it passes through the loop (FIG. 6) established on this side; the string need, therefore, not be cut so that the lost bits are eliminated. Besides, valuable time-saving is realized as the passage behind the strand of string sometimes several yards long is avoided, and this at each knot.

The setting in place of the knot at the desired place is also easier. The knot is brought to the place desired by acting on the loop to which more or less length is given so as to slip in one direction or the other coils 7 and 8 of FIG. 5, the differences in length being compensated by acting on the part of the string connected to bobbin 4. The point is, therefore, at the place desired when the knot is tightened.

This tightening is permanent and independent from the neighboring stitches. Thus, if the string is cut between two knots the neighboring stitches do not loosen up as with the knot of FIG. 1. At the end of the operation shown on FIG. 6, the knot is locked since the string coming out of the knot is held by loop 9 of the coils 7 and 8 (FIG. 7). The efliciency of the binding is, therefore, perfect and permanent because the tightness of a knot depends only on the strain exerted on the string during this operation, each stitch being independent from its neighbor.

In addition, the tightening of each knot being indepedent, it is therefore, possible to reduce the tightening effort, in the new method of tightening in relation to the one illustrated by FIG. 1, since there is no danger of loosening from the string stitch achieved.

Finally, this reduction in the eifort of tightening while preserving its efiiciency at binding avoids the risk of cutting into the insulation sheath of the conductors, this tightening eflort being spread not on one coil only but on the two coils composing the binding stitch.

It is clear that the preceding description has only been given as an unrestrictive example and that numerous alternatives may be considered without departing from the scope of the invention. One could use, for example, a ribbon of appropriate material or any other binding means instead of string, in the same way that it is possible to realize the binding stitch, object of the invention, either manually or with the aid of a tool of appropriate conception and form.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for binding a cable comprising forming a loop by passing a first part of a cord under a second part,

pulling a portion of said loop around a cable and back through the loop to form a longer loop,

pulling the first part of said cord through said longer loop, and

pulling the second part of said cord to form a knot.

2. A binding stitch for binding cables comprising a first loop formed on one side of the cable from string coming respectively from a bobbin and a knot, said string from the bobbin passing under the string from the knot to form said first loop,

the extremity of the first loop being extended around the cable and back through the first loop and over the part of the string coming from the knot to form a second loop, and

the bobbin being passed through the second loop parallel to the axis of the cable,

whereby a now knot may be formed by pulling taut the string with the bobbin attached.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,913,270 11/ 1959 Sachsenroder et al. 289-1 X 3,138,394 6/1964 Kosrow 289-1 3,252,723 5/1966 Burke 2891 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

L. K. RIMRODT, Examiner. 

1. A METHOD FOR BINDING A CABLE COMPRISING FORMING A LOOP BY PASSING A FIRST PART OF A CORD UNDER A SECOND PART, PULLING A PORTION OF SAID LOOP AROUND A CABLE AND BACK THROUGH THE LOOP TO FORM A LONGER LOOP, PULLING THE FIRST PART OF SAID CORD THROUGH SAID LONGER LOOP, AND PULLING THE SECOND PART OF SAID CORD TO FORM A KNOT. 